Forest of Horses
by NuclearParadise
Summary: Deep in the woods, an Apothecary named Matthew lives alone with only his horse Kumajiro as company. Sometimes the occasional traveler stops by for treatment, though some must learn the secret of the Forest of Horses. Oneshot


Matthew shifted the saddle on his pale white horse, making sure it was correctly placed. He gazed out at the surrounding forest, his lavender eyes shining in the shimmering blue moonlight. Tonight seemed like a good night to go for a ride, he could collect some herbs for various medicines too. Some mushrooms and flowers only blossomed at night, providing a nice quiet scene while he worked. He patted his horses thigh, muttering praise before gripping the saddle.

"Ok Kuma, I'm ready to go." The horse let out a neigh of approval, bending down the slightest bit for his master to mount him. Matthew leapt on and got into a comfortable position, grabbing the reigns resting on the animal's back. Kumajiro stood up fully, stammering his hoof in the soft top soil. The blonde secured the pouch around his waste and focused ahead. He pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, hiding his facial features in a dark mask of shadow. Lightly kicking his heel into his horse's underbelly, he signaled the beginning of his journey. Kumajiro let out a puff of air and began his slow trek down the path leading away from Matthew's small house buried deep in the woods. A cool breeze swept through the trees, causing a soft rattling sound. Matthew loved the night more than the day in most cases. The night was more mysterious and elusive, while the day had nothing to hide. Though night still had it's ups and downs. A slight frown pulled at his lips as he remembered the night before. He had another patient come to him mortally wounded at a terrible time. It was on this night he was supposed to gather the herb for infection, unfortunately not the day before. Blood rose never grew during the day, and that was the only other herb that he could grow in the fall that could stop the infection. The poor young man had died before he could help. Matthew could vaguely recall what hallucinations the man had described.

_"N-no I'm telling you, you- you've got to listen to me! There was this blizzard! It- It came out of nowhere! A-and I- there-"Matthew hushed the man laying in his bed covered in thick warm blankets. He had stumbled onto his doorstep not long before, blood caking in his hair and decorating his clothes. His body was covered in deep gashes, probably caused by some sort of wild animal. Matthew frowned at the man, now trembling and breathing heavily, he was in terrible condition._

_"Who are you?" Matthew asked again, taking the cloth off the other's forehead and re-soaking it in a bucket by the bedside._

_The man shivered as the cloth was placed on his head again, gasping at it's sudden contact. A moment passed, Matthew being more than patient with him. "I-Ivan, my name is Ivan..." He shrunk farther into the blankets, trying to find more heat. His body felt so cold, yet the surface was so hot. Matthew nodded, blinking his eyes slowly and sadly. This man wouldn't last much longer and he knew it. Why did he insist he was attacked by a storm, a blizzard at that? He shook his head as Ivan groaned in pain, reaching his hand out to rest on the other's chest. His heart wasn't very strong._

_"Please calm down, stressing will do you no good." Matthew's voice was soft and soothing, he had learned how to comfort his patients when he was an apprentice. Ivan tried his best to calm down, breathing through his nose in an effort to cool off. He was hot, though in his mind he was freezing in the bitter cold. Matthew guessed that this man had some sort of mental illness and had been attacked by an animal which triggered this kind of effect. Why the man was wandering around his forest was beyond him. He slowly got up from the beside chair, reaching his hand up and away from his patient. The man looked unfazed, still trapped in his mental battle. He nodded at him, whispering a silent prayer before walking out of the room._

_Matthew grabbed a carrot and his lantern from his kitchen table, walking outside into the night air. He pulled his cloak tighter over himself as the wind ate at any exposed skin. It was cold, he had to admit, but not blizzard cold. His horse let out a rough snort as he rounded his house and came to the gate leading to his stable._

_"Hey boy." He whispered, opening the gate and latching it behind himself. Kumajiro starred at him expectantly, his beady black eyes shining in the light. He carefully lifted the carrot to his horse's mouth, smiling happily as Kuma greedily snatched it up and ate it. "Good boy, do you feel like picking some herbs tonight?" The horse seemed to put off a negative feeling, dipping his head low and raising it up in a disrespectful manner. Matthew's eyebrows pulled together in frustration. "Oh come on Kumajuko I have a patient who needs an herb I don't have. Could you please do it just this once? This means we wont have to go out tomorrow now." Kuma looked unamused, looking off to the side. "Please." Matthew pressed. Kumajiro looked back at him, neighing and jumping up on his hind legs. "I knew you'd understand~" The blonde hummed, hope warming his belly. He pet his horse's head, and hugged him happily. "Thank you!" Kumajiro snorted in impatience and backed up, motioning his head towards the house. Matthew nodded and turned to walk out of the stable, he had to save this man quickly. He walked out, waving to his horse and raising his lantern above his head. The inside of his house smelt sour from all of the herbs he dug up looking for the right one. He set his lantern down temporarily and walked into his bedroom to check on his patient. A smile lit his face, he was going to save this man's life. He pushed the door open, his eyes landing on Ivan laying in a curled up mass of blankets. His smile quickly disappeared as he heard what the man was whispering. _

_"Irunya, please forgive me for not taking better care of Natalya. I'm sorry for leaving her, she will have to get along on her own now...I'm sure Ma and Pa are mad too, da? I-I just hope I can come see you all soon, this hell is never ending." A sad choked up voice came from where Ivan lay scrunched up under the blankets, stabbing Matthew with despair. Wasn't he going to go get the herb and save him? He would live right? Why did he want to die? Matthew knew very well that it wasn't true, what this man was mumbling about. Not here, not in these woods._

_A few hours later Ivan passed away, with only a hushed apology before crossing over. Matthew would give him a proper burial at sunrise, now he had to go tell Kumajiro the bad news. He ran his fingers through the man's blonde-gray hair one last time, his face hung sadly. _

_"No, I'm sorry Ivan."_

Matthew rode on, tightly gripping the reigns resting in his hands. His gut was full of regret, making him nauseous. He starred out at the passing trees, his eyes dark and sad. His first casualty, thought it was definitely not his last in his carrier as an Apothecary.

A sudden smudge of grey caught his eye, and he swiveled his head up to the clearing on his right. In the moonlight he could just barely make out the silhouette of a lone horse. He gently pulled on Kuma's reigns, waiting for his friend to stop. Matthew squinted his eyes, noticing small dots of yellow in the distance. He couldn't help but smile at what he saw. A grayish-blond horse stood in a bed of yellow flowers, bending it's head down to nibble one of them. The horse seemed to hear him, as it lifted it's head to stare in Matthew's direction. It's eyes had a purplish tint to them, and it's face seemed longer than the usual horse. The blonde smiled warmly, his terrible mood lifting. He let go of the reigns and waved towards the horse in greeting. It stood still for a moment, it's body frozen. Matthew swore he was crazy, but was that horse smiling? It stood up on it's hind legs and let out a bellowing neigh before returning to it's sunflower snack.

Matthew loved this forest, the Forest of Horses. It truly was a beautiful place, even at night.

**General Winter you little stinker.**

**I don't own the characters, blah blah blah. Please review~**


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